Designing for the Senses
Course
Non-traditional Internal Senses [9:49]
Brain research is beginning to explain the roots to what we humans have always thought of as our sixth sense. There is growing evidence that humans are born with the capacity to make the association between warmth and well-being, trust and safety.
So there is a reason we think of the words "cold" and "lonely" so often together. We can fell it. The insula has difficulty differentiating between physical pain and psychological pain. Children who are bullied, for example, are having a very painful experience whether they are hit on the playground or belittled in social media. Our need to address feelings of isolation in children can play into simple design ideas.
A human interest story about three young children who dug up a rock in their school playground caught my attention. All through their elementary school years, they worked on exposing the stone which was growing in size as more and more of it was unveiled. The rock story is an interesting example of how an element can make a huge difference once it takes on meaning. The three returned to their elementary school as high school seniors to find their large boulder was now the spot children who felt lonely and without a friend would go to sit at recess.
Always, by the end of recess, other students would find and befriend the isolated child. The stone became a gateway to expressing feelings of isolation. Once those feelings were acknowledged, the empathetic feeling of other children came to their rescue. The reaction of other children were undoubtedly triggered by the mirror neurons found in the premotor cortex of our brain. David Susa simply explains this brain discovery as, "Neuroscientists believe these brain neurons may help an individual to decode the intention and predict the behavior of others. They allow us to recreate the experience of others within ourselves and understand others' emotions and express empathy."
Mirror neurons are given credit for an infant's ability to mimic adult facial expressions and motions while they begin to understand the meaning of those expressions and movements. Research suggests that whether we are actively engaged in an event, like walking out and sitting alone on a large boulder on the playground or merely watching someone else perform the action, we feel their pain. It is a sixth sense coming from the mirror neurons in our brain.
Similar effects can be reached by designing a library space in bold, warm tones and adding an electric fireplace. The environment triggers psychological warmth for users. This sense of well-being and safety is activated. Tactile design elements and sunlight, activities, colors, sounds, and smells can all contribute to both the physical and psychological well-being of students. This is especially true if a design element connects to an early memory or contributes to establishing a new memory which will be triggered again and again each time the student comes back into the environment.
Obviously, the opposite is also true. An environment can be the source of deep-seated stress and anxiety. Understanding how an environment can elicit responses from a student is critical to design improvements. For example, I have been in libraries that just felt cold the moment I walked into the space. The actual temperature was not cold but the environment was. When I sat and studied one of these libraries, a number of factors came to mind. The placement of windows was too high so it felt like you were in a hole. You had to look up to see blue sky which psychologically made the hole deeper. The walls were painted a cool shade of grey and all the accents were blue which reinforced the coldness. The space was large but inflexible.
It also had a vaulted ceiling which added to the feeling of being submerged. The lighting was not suspended enough so the room, in the middle of the day, was dim and had an eerie feel. It was simply cold. I did not want to stay there and I seriously doubt whether students were comfortable in the space.
There is another physiological sense I would like to discuss in this workshop. It is the sense of balance. Humans combine a fabulous system of visual and auditory tools with their muscles to provide the brain with a sense of balance. When our balance is off, the body is dizzy, nauseous, frequently the world around you appears to be spinning. It is difficult to stand, walk, and at times, even sit. It is a terrible feeling. Yet the world has not been altered. It is our balance. Balance also works to give the body get a sense of where it is in space or spatial orientation.
It is this element of balance, our ability to sense spatial orientation, that is of particular interest to me. We can tell if we are moving forward or backward, if we are moving up the stairs or down or whether the ground is beneath us and the sky is above. Losing our spatial orientation is a serious problem such as when a pilot becomes disoriented and crashes. Balance and spatial orientation work together and move us through the world.
I also think it is our innate ability to understand spatial orientation that tells us when a location is wrong. It may seem unsafe or dangerous, making us want to leave immediately. A space may seem familiar even though it is our first visit to the location. We easily adjust to the environment, settling in like we have lived there forever. Our level of comfort in spaces is a perceived feeling based on experience, our long history of spatial orientation. We take information from the space. It is non-verbal and usually symbolic. It does not matter if someone verbally assures us that we will be happy and have fun in a space. The space itself must give us that information.
Environmental psychologist, Dr. Sally Augustine, writes about how space can reinforce behavior and personal motivation. Several of the qualities she explores in home space design are based on Steven Reiss's work in intrinsic human motivation. In planning school and library design, several of these psychological human needs I found compelling. First, does the space invite curiosity? As we have discussed, the human brain likes novelty and surprise. Does a space invite a student to explore and support their natural curiosity? Or is it a monotone of sameness?
Another question to ask yourself is does the space encourage independence? Can the student control the environment and make it successfully work for them or are they forced to behave and function based on someone else's motivation? Does the space impose a power or status structure on the user? Is there a hierarchy with obvious positions of authority, power, or superiority? Have the users overtly or accidentally taken over in the zones within the library and use them to intimidate other students?
Humans are motivated by social contact so, are there spaces to accomplish that for both introverts and extraverts? Do you make social interaction easy and incidental? Exercise is also a motivation. So is the space open and flexible? Does it allow physical movement or does the user feel confined? Humans naturally seek order and tranquility. So will a space have enough organization and logic for the brain to see patterns and not clutter? Are there spaces for quiet relaxation or can a student find a space to look out into nature and feel tranquility?
The last question I would ask is one of acceptance. When students enter your library, do they feel accepted, welcomed as part of a family of learners? Acceptance can manifest itself in graphics, scope of content and a diversity of user interests. Even traffic patterns and sightlines can speak to accepting individuals. But perhaps, the most important acceptance feature is whether an adult is visible to engage the child and nurture their learning experience.
Research points to an internal "sixth sense," potentially connected to the insula, which is related to feelings and empathy. There are simple ways to include library design elements that will encourage comfort and warm feelings. An additional sense, balance, is also discussed in this lesson along with ideas to create a sense of balance in the library space.
Evaluate the library space using the criteria provided toward the end of this lesson. Does the library space 1) promote curiosity; 2) encourage independence; 3) accommodate social contact for all; 4) promote exercise, order, tranquility; 5) exude acceptance? Be sure to evaluate through the eyes of the student and to make note of ways in which the space can be improved.
| How well does the library space… | ||||
| Good | Average | Needs improvement | Comments | |
promote curiosity?
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encourage independence?
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accommodate social contact for all?
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promote exercise, order, tranquility?
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exude acceptance?
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MLA Citation
Collins, Karla. "Designing for the Senses: Evaluate the Feel of Your Space." School Library Connection, December 2024, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/1985347?learningModuleId=1980800&topicCenterId=2247903.
Entry ID: 2132725
Additional Resources
About the Author
Margaret L. Sullivan, MA, is an independent consultant and principal at Library Resource Group, LLC. She holds a master's degree in communication arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her published works include AASL's Library Spaces for 21st Century Learners: A Planning Guide for Creating New School Library Concepts along with articles on space planning in School Library Journal, Knowledge Quest, Teacher Librarian, and American School & University. For 28 years, Sullivan was an executive at the former Highsmith Inc., a leading supplier to schools and libraries, ending her career there as director of merchandising and marketing.
MLA Citation
Sullivan, Margaret L. "Designing for the Senses. Non-traditional Internal Senses [9:49]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, November 2015, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/1985347?learningModuleId=1980800&topicCenterId=2247903.
https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/1985347?learningModuleId=1980800&topicCenterId=2247903
Entry ID: 1985347
